Improvement in door-latches



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED RIx, `OF sAN FRANoIscO, CALIFORNIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN Doo'R-LATOHES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 36,732, dated October 21, 1862.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED RIx, of San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented a new and Improved OlosetLatch; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure l represents a face View of my latch attached to a door, the bolt being in position to open. same. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section ofthe same, taken in the plane indicated by the line .fr x, Fig. 2.

Similar letters of reference indicate corre sponding parts in the several figures.

Thisinvention consists in the arrangement of an oscillating angular bolt, which catches by its own gravity under a notched cap in com bination with a transversely-moving ratched slide in such a manner that by moving said slide-in one direction the bolt is brought op posite the notch in the cap and the door can be opened, and by moving the slide in the opposite direction the bolt drops down by its own gravity and catches under the cap, when the door is locked, said parts being arranged in relation to each other so that my latch can be used equally well for left-hand and for right-hand doors.

To enable those skilled in --the art to make and use my invention` I will proceed to de,

scribe it with reference to the drawings.

rl`he bolt A consists of a round or angular piece of metal, cast or produced in any other convenient Inanner,and bent twice at right angles, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.- Its short arm a is secured to the case B by means of a screw and nut, b, or in any other convenient manner, and its long arm c extends through a curved slot, d, inthe front part of the case, so that it swings freely from one end of said slot to the other, the short arm a being the pivot.

The face of the case Bis convex and provided with a slot, e, which forms the guide for a slide, C. Said slide extends through to the interior of the case, and it is perforated with a slot, f, through which the end of the long arm c of the bolt A passes.. The slot f, in the slide C, is about twice as long as the Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of theV tends, which is hinged to the end ot' the short arm of bolt A, whereby said slide is secured in its place and at the same time it is free to move in the slot e of the case. A knob or handle, h, serves to move the slide to any desired position.

The case B is secured to the door, and opposite to the case a cap, D, is fastened to the jamb of the door. Said cap is of the same general form as the case B. and is furnished with a notch, i, in the center, so that when thebolt A assumes acentral position,the door can be opened.

In order to open the door, therefore, the slide C has to be moved to the position shown in Fig. 3, whereby the bolt is brought in a central position, as previously stated; but it' the slide is moved to the lower end of the slot e in case B,the bolt sinks down and catches under the cap and the door is locked.

It is obvious that this latch may be applied either sidev up with equal advantage, and conseqnent-lyit can be applied to doors opening from the right and from the left. It is oonstructed exceedingly simple. It works without a spring, and its parts are so constructed that y they are notliable to proveinj urions to clothes.l

the manner and for the purpose herein shown and described.

VALFRED BIX.

Witnesses:

WM. H. GULVER, SOL. A. SHARP, D. W. CHAMBERS. 

